TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Even in the midst of Japan's deepest economic recession since World War II, the country's love hotel industry is thriving.

The Style A hotel in Tokyo offers amenities.

"I'd hate to use the term "recession-proof," but it's certainly proven very resilient over the last six to nine months," said Steve Mansfield, CEO of New Perspectives, which operates six love, or "leisure," hotels in Japan.

One of them, the Bonita Hotel in Isawa, boasts a 257 percent occupancy rate. Rooms can be rented for three to 24 hours.

Mansfield's company estimates the industry in Japan pulls in $40 billion a year in revenue.

"It's a natural human desire. Even these days, on the weekend, every love hotel is full of people -- it's hard to get in. You can never stop sexual desire," said a woman with her boyfriend in Tokyo, who laughed in embarrassment when asked for her name.

Love hotels fill a need for privacy in a country where high population density often means couples have little time alone.

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The days of Japanese being ashamed to enter love hotels are coming to an end, though, Mansfield said.

"Seventy-five percent of our guests are members of our points program," he said. "They carry our points cards, they collect points and they receive gifts. That's something people are very comfortable with, and I think that reflects the customers that we attract."